MOLSON Coors has joined forces with pub company Punch Taverns to offer landlords a 30% discount on Sky Sports subscriptions.
All existing Sky Ultimate subscribers within the Punch estate will be eligible for the discount, as well as new subscribers signing up to the deal. In order to qualify, lessees have to consistently stock Carling and two other draught brands from Molson Coors for 12 months.
Molson Coors and Sky launched a similar initiative last year for independent pubs, which the brewer said benefitted more than 1000 outlets.
“Our aim is to boost footfall, revenue and, ultimately, pubs’ profits,” said Coors’ Tony Gibbons.
The new initiative comes as BT Group confirmed plans to acquire ESPN’s UK and Ireland TV channels.
The deal, which is expected to be complete by the end of July, will give BT the ESPN and ESPN America channels and their live sports rights portfolio, which includes some FA Cup, Clydesdale Bank Scottish Premier League and UEFA Europa League games.
Once the deal is complete, BT said it will continue to operate at least one ESPN-branded channel, which will form part of the BT Sport TV package, which will be launched this summer.
BT’s Marc Watson said the deal will give BT Sport customers “even more quality live football”.
